Good Deed Never Goes Unpunished
by Tarkinton
Summary: I think the title sums it all. Short story about a random encounter between a human male refugee and a female seeker in a forest.
1. Chapter 1

"Stop! Just let me help you!" a female voice yelled behind me.

" _Yeah, right…"_ I thought and increased my speed in response. My alien pursuer was armed and determined to catch me. But I knew the area well and she did not. She could not get a clear shot at me in the complicated, forested terrain and I was confident I could outrun her.

I realized that I was succeeding when I heard her voice fading somewhere far behind me. "Please… come willingly!"

I knew they always said words like that and I wondered whether it ever worked on any human. If anyone ever stopped running and just _came along quietly_ as they demanded. I figured that they must have or even the ever polite Souls would not bother saying it. Some people were just not meant for a life on the run.

I could recall that shortly after the invasion, there were stories of humans turning themselves in to the Souls. Some of them could not handle losing everything and living as fugitives. Many of them hoped to be, in some way, reunited with their loved ones who were already taken. So they would walk into the Seeker stations, praying for mercy from the alien invaders. But regardless of their reasons, there was only one fate awaiting them when they gave in…

The Seekers claimed to treat the willing, non-violent humans better but I was not sure what that meant. Ultimately, even those who chose not to resist had Souls implanted into them, their minds erased.

I was definitely not about to let them do this to me…

The Seeker continued to plead with me to surrender even as she chased me through the forest. I ran about hundred more meters when her voice suddenly stopped – instead, I heard a scream and then silence.

Or so I thought – a moment later, I heard a weak _"Help me…"_ coming somewhere from behind me.

I hid behind one of the trees as I stopped to listen.

"Help me! I fell and I am hurt!" I heard clearly this time.

I considered the situation. It could be a trick… the Seeker trying to lure me into open. But somehow I doubted that. The parasites were generally incapable of lying. And while the Seekers were specially trained to be able to _lie_ and _deceive_ when necessary, pretending to be injured in order to gain an advantage still sounded too much for them.

No. Chances were that the female Seeker really fell somewhere while pursuing me through the dense forest. I knew there was a ravine not far behind me that was easy to miss unless one knew where it was. And while it was still light, the sun was almost gone, making the shadows within the forest longer.

Part of me wanted to ignore her calls and just keep running. It would have been the smart, logical choice. But the pain and the desperation in her voice made my heart ache. I decided to at least take a look at what happened.

Going by her voice I carefully backtracked my way through the forest, taking care to avoid any ambush places she might use in case this was a trick.

I eventually arrived at the edge of the ravine I thought about earlier. I carefully peeked over the edge and saw that the Seeker was down in the ravine, just as I expected. She was sitting with her back against a large rock. With one hand she was clutching her right leg. With her other hand, she was trying to repair her radio which must have been damaged during her fall.

I briefly wondered what happened to her side arm before I saw it lying on top of the hill that led into the ravine. She probably dropped it when she fell down.

I picked it up before I carefully descended into the ravine. I moved slowly, not wanting to end up like my pursuer, with bruises and broken bones.

She finally noticed my presence when I reached the bottom. She saw the pistol I held in my hand and her voice filled with panic.

"No, stay away from me!" she said and tried to back away, hissing in pain as she did. I saw that she had an open fracture of her right shin and that it was bleeding.

It was clear she thought that I was going to kill her and despite the agony of her broken limb, she was trying to crawl away from me on the floor of the ravine.

"Just calm down, alright?!" I told her in a soothing voice. I made sure not to point the pistol in her direction as I approached. "I came to help you…"

" _And unlike you, my help does not involve murdering you and putting a parasite in your body…"_ I thought.

"Can you walk?" I asked, already suspecting the answer. With an injury like that, she was not getting out of the ravine without help. She could perhaps make it with a dose of morphine but I did not see her carrying that. And here in wilderness and without her radio, the only help she was going to get was _me_.

She shook her head ' _No_ '. "You… wish … to come… quietly?" she asked in shaking voice as she sniffled.

I rolled my eyes and frowned. "Would you stop with that already?!" I said angrily. "I am willing to help you but I am not about to let you put an alien inside my head!"

"It's my… calling," she managed to say over her pain as an explanation. "Help me to… car and I'll… take you for… insertion myself," she pleaded. "It does not hurt…"

Privately, I admired her dedication. Even injured and in tremendous amounts of pain, she was still trying to do her job… too bad her job involved having me killed.

"You know…" I sighed sadly. "… just forget it," I said and turned around to walk away. It was a mistake coming down here. I did not know what I was thinking…

"NO, PLEASE!" she screamed in voice that again made my heart ache. "Don't leave me here! I'll die."

I turned to look at her and our eyes met. She was crying from the pain and looked like a wounded doe as she pleaded for me to help her.

I remembered why I came down here. She was right. She would die if I left her here.

I tried to tell myself that I would help anyone in this situation, regardless of who they were… but perhaps the plain truth was that I found this woman very attractive, which was unconsciously making me more sympathetic to her plight…

She had blonde hair, symmetrical face, and a body that filled that damned Seeker suit like a charm. In earlier days, back when we humans still had a civilization, she could have been a model. And she looked about my age. At twenty-three years old and on the run, I did not come into contact with girls of my age much.

Combine that with the doe eyes she was giving me and my male instinct was screaming at me to help her. To protect her. A perfect damsel in distress…

I had to forcefully remind myself that she was not just an injured human woman. She was an alien parasite inside the body of a woman. Just a moment ago, she was chasing me, wanting to kill me.

But still – the pain in her eyes, the tears on her face…

I knew right there and then that I was not about to leave her to die.

"You have canister of _Sleep_ on you, right?" I finally asked her, eyeing her utility belt. All Seekers carried those… to incapacitate and capture the wild humans like me.

She nodded.

"Throw it away..." I commanded.

The Seeker reluctantly took the small rectangular object and threw it away on the ground. Then she looked at me hopefully.

"Ok… let's get you out of here," I said as I holstered the pistol behind my belt. I then offered my hand to the Seeker which she reluctantly took and I slowly pulled her up.

She hissed painfully as her injured leg changed position. I draped her right hand over my shoulders, providing her with support in place of her broken limb. We slowly started to move out of the ravine, she limping on one leg with me acting as her crutch.

Fortunately, the place where she pulled over her car before she started chasing me on foot was not far from here. Still, there was no nice road between here and there and I had to scoop her up into my arms several times to get over the difficult parts.

"Thank you… for helping me…" she told me as we slowly moved.

"You are welcome," I said and smiled in response. It was the first sentence to come out of her mouth in which she was not trying to convince me to surrender.

"So what is your name?" I asked her, wanting to carry on with the _normal_ conversation.

"I am… Takes Sunlight from the South…" she told me. "Others call me Takes Sunlight… or just Sunlight."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Sunlight," I said politely. "My name is Jacob."

I was about to ask her how she earned her name but she spoke faster.

"Why were you running… away from me, Jacob? I only wished to help you…" Sunlight said as we slowly moved through the forest.

" _And we're back to normal…"_ I thought sadly.

"You want to put a Soul in me…" I told her the plain truth. "I don't want that… I want to remain as I am. Human. Alive."

"But… we don't kill you!" she sounded offended at the mere idea. "We only make you better," she offered what she thought were words of solace.

She was repeating the same kind of arguments as all Seekers did. I wondered whether it was a standard part of their training.

"Hijacking my body and erasing my mind is not _making me better_ ," I raised my voice. "That's murder!"

In my anger I made us stumble and she cried out. "Sorry," I immediately said. Regardless of what she was, I did not wish to see her in needless pain.

"It's not like that… we keep the host's memories… they get to live forever in us," Takes Sunlight spoke, still resolute in her opinions. "My host… I can recall… everything she ever experienced! Her feelings, her thoughts…"

Again, I had to admire her tenacity even if it was so hopelessly misplaced.

"So you remember what our lives were like, but that's all it is… a remembering. Our lives are over when one of you comes in! You think you saved my world, but it is just not true. You are destroying us!"

"You're wrong, Jacob," she immediately protested. "Humanity is stronger than ever before! The wars, the famine, the violence… we got rid of all that," Sunlight insisted. "Before we came, you were headed towards total self-annihilation… now your species will continue to exist for countless millennia and more!"

"Please Jacob…. just let us help you… as we helped others of your world," Sunlight pleaded over her pain. "Everything will be well… if you just come with me…"

" _A perfect world. And all it cost were our lives and our free will…"_ I thought sadly as I heard her describe Earth under the rule of Souls.

It was hard for me to argue with the Seeker since what she was saying was technically correct. It was true that humans were more often a pestilence to our own planet than anything else. But what the Souls did was like curing the disease by killing the patient…

I closed my eyes to calm myself. "You know what… forget it," I said in resignation. "I gave up on trying reasoning with you Souls long time ago… let's just get you to your car."

* * *

When we finally got on the road to her car, I carefully sat her down next to it. By this point, I was afraid the Seeker would get difficult again and try to take me down perhaps, but her injury was getting worse and she did not have the strength. I had to practically carry her last part of the way and I was worried about her.

"You can call help from here?" I asked her and Sunlight nodded. "Yes, thank you… you should stay here… wait until they come," she did not miss an opportunity.

By _'they',_ I knew she meant her fellow Seekers. Even after our conversation, she still insisted I let her take me into custody, claiming it was best for me.

"You _must_ come with me, Jacob…" she said earlier. I rather harshly retorted that I was saving her life and that it would be nice of her to stop trying to capture me.

"I am Seeker, Jacob…" Sunlight then replied. "You are human… it is my _calling_ to take you in. I am sorry if that scares you… there is no other way."

Fortunately for me, she was in no position to enforce her duty and she knew it…

In a form of karmic punishment perhaps, Sunlight loudly hissed at her last sentence as the pain from her broken leg reminded itself. I could see it in her eyes that she was now barely holding it together… and her wound was still bleeding.

I was not comfortable leaving her here like this, helpless and suffering.

"Actually… you have a first aid kit here?" I gestured at the car.

"Yes… in the trunk…" she said, gasping again. It was getting worse by the minute.

I nodded and went to open the back of Sunlight's car. It was not locked and I immediately saw the plastic box with a red cross painted on it. I took it and went back to her. But before that, I've decided to ditch the pistol on the other side of the car. I did not think she was going to try anything but I was not taking any chances…

Hand-to-hand, I was confident I could handle her. While the Seekers were specially trained to use guns in defense, physical martial arts were too violent for them to even consider learning. One on one, most human refugees could take down a lone unarmed Seeker simply because a human was able to imagine a level of violence and let's face it, _evilness,_ that a Soul could not.

But that did not mean the Seekers were not dangerous! In fact, in real life confrontations, it was generally the human who went down. The strength of the Seekers was in their numbers, their weapons, and their cans of _Sleep_ gas. Right now, the woman suffering on the other side of the car had neither of those.

And lastly, without sounding too chauvinistic, I knew that I was clearly the physically stronger of the two of us. From our journey through the forest, I knew that Seeker Sunlight was a fit woman but I was a human male in my prime…

So it was with those thoughts that I came back to her to do something many would consider foolhardy.

I found her lying where I left her, now barely conscious. I knelled down at her injured leg. The sleeve of her pants was already saturated with blood. I took out a pocket knife to cut the fabric.

She saw the knife and started to wriggle. "I am not going to hurt you. Just need to get to the wound…" I calmed her.

"I want to watch…" Sunlight whispered back, trying to sit up and failing.

" _She does not trust me…"_ I thought.

I finally helped her to move so she could sit with her back pressed against the side of her car before I returned to the wound.

I cut the sleeve of her trousers, exposing the injured chin. I could see the bone protruding and wondered how she was still talking. Obviously, the parasites were tougher than they looked.

I opened the first aid kit. When I first saw its content, I moved it further away from her – there was another canister of Sleep in there and I was not about to risk her using it on me.

I briefly considered using the Sleep on _her_ but I dismissed the idea. I had no idea what the effect of it might be on someone in her condition. It would be a real shame to accidentally kill her now after dragging her all the way through the forest.

Besides, even though I knew first aid and a thing or two about the Souls' magical drugs, I was no doctor (or healer, as they termed it) and so it was good to have her awake to give me pointers in case I was unsure what to do.

I took out Clean, No-pain, and Heal and returned to her leg.

"You know… how?" she asked me, looking at the alien medicine. "Yes, don't worry…" I answered.

I first took the No-pain and sprayed it on the bleeding wound. She moaned with relieve almost instantly – the pain she felt must have been horrible. Then I took the Clean and applied it on the wound and surrounding skin to prevent infection.

Then came the tricky part.

I took hold of her leg and forcibly pushed to return the fractured bone into its position as best as possible. Normally, I would have given her a stick to bite onto but the "No-pain" made sure she did not feel any of my gruesome actions, even if she was still scared.

Finally, I took the last spray and applied generous amount of "Heal" onto the wound.

I watched as the substance magically sealed her skin and mended shattered bone underneath. At the end, the injury was still apparent but it looked at least weeks older if not more.

"There…better?" I asked her as I combed her blonde hair, looking for signs of head trauma. She had many other injuries from the fall – bruises and cuts. But as far as I could see, nothing life threatening. It could wait to be treated by her regular Healer.

All the time I worked on her injury, Sunlight studied me with her big blue eyes tinged with silver. It was clear that she was the enemy but I still cared about her wellbeing. As I helped her, the immense relieve and gratitude in her eyes was intoxicating and making me proud.

"Thank you!" the blonde Seeker woman declared, rubbing her leg as she rested. "I'd swear you were a Healer! I don't know how I can ever repay you…"

She was positively beaming at me and I could not help but smile at her in return. I could almost forget who she was… almost.

"You can start by NOT chasing me or inserting an alien in my head…" I said only half jokingly.

Perhaps that was a wrong thing to say. Not because the Souls had trouble understanding sarcasm but because it again reminded her who I was and what she was supposed to do here.

"You are a kind man… you don't deserve to live like this. Please… just surrender to me," Sunlight said even as she rested after the treatment. "Let me take you to the city... I'll remain with you until the insertion, I promise… I can even do it myself if you wish… no one is going to hurt you, Jacob. You have my word."

Our eyes met and I had no doubt about the sincerity of her offer. I smiled at her bitterly. She was talking about murdering me and still managed to make it sound charming and tempting. For a split second, I considered what it would be like to do as she asked…

I long suspected that I would not be able to evade our alien overlords forever. Sooner or later, I would make a mistake and they'd capture me. Nobody can run forever. So why not just surrender to this woman and get it over with? I could already imagine the beautiful smile that'd be on Sunlight's face if I just did as she asked.

But the truth was that I was not ready to accept this fate, even if it seemed inevitable in the long-run…

"I am sorry, miss… but I'll have to pass on that offer. I am a human and I wish to stay the way I am… and now I must be gone," I said and was about to stand up to leave.

"There is nothing I can say to change your mind? I-" the Seeker looked like she was about to try and persuade me again but then she just nodded in understanding.

"I-… I understand… it is who you are, isn't it?" she said as if to herself. She seemed deep in thought for a moment… but then, instead of more speeches, she threw her arms around me, catching me before I could stand up from her.

At first I thought she was attacking me but then… she pressed her lips against mine and kissed me.

"Sunlight?" I gasped, totally taken by surprise even though it was not at all unpleasant.

The Seeker looked like she was surprised at her actions herself but then her gaze turned determined.

"You were so kind to me, Jacob… I just want… I need you to…" she fought with the words but her nimble hands on my body made it clear what it was that she wanted from me…

I knew I should have just extricated myself from her hold and walked away. But I was attracted to her the moment I saw her. So, against my better judgment, I deepened the kiss and let her pull me down to the ground with her.

Being on the run was not as glamorous and romantic as it sounded and it has been to long since I've been with someone like this. I lost myself in the feeling. I had not planned for or expected _this_ but if _this_ was the way she wanted to show me her gratitude for saving her life then I was fine with that.

Sunlight's hands roamed my body and I did the same, feeling her generous curves. I was just searching for a way to remove her black seeker uniform when she abruptly broke the kiss.

I smiled at her breathless and she smiled back at me but then her expression turned strangely serious. She wrapped her legs around my midsection – normally a welcome intimate gesture but I had a feeling she did not mean it like that.

"I can't let you go, Jacob. I am so sorry…" she told me in soft kind voice before it turned cold and professional. "This is the last chance I am giving you…" she said in strong but not unkind voice. "Surrender to me peacefully… come quietly and willingly and you'll be treated well…" her silver eyes bore into mine, reminding me what she was.

I raised my eyebrow at her and she added. "… resist and I'll do what I have to."

I realized that I've been a fool. When she kissed me, it temporarily overrode my reason and caution and I embraced the illusion. But in reality, there was no beautiful blonde girl in my arms, passionately kissing me. Instead, an alien inside her was controlling everything that happened.

" _Was she seducing me into surrendering?!"_ I thought. _"Could the Seekers be that devious?"_

I did not want to believe she was still onto this. I had my hand cupping her breast over the clothes and I desperately wanted to continue where we left off.

But I let go.

I found her painfully attractive but I was not a horny teenager anymore. If she foolishly hoped to use this encounter as a way of making me surrender to her, it would be best to leave now and save us both the embarrassment…

I decided that I was leaving right now and I started to push away from her body hold.

"I told you. There is no way I…"

I did not get to finish my sentence as at that moment, I felt some liquid being sprayed into my face. I've fallen limb, mouth open in surprise but Seeker Sunlight caught me in her arms.

"There, it's over now..." she said and gently lowered me to the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

From my new position I saw that the Seeker held a canister of Sleep in her hand that she just used on me.

" _No! This cannot be happening! Where the hell did she get that canister?!"_ I thought, petrified with fear.

I moved my head a little and saw that the first aid box was now right next to us, way closer than where I placed it.

I silently cried to heavens as I pieced together what happened. I realized that she must have used her right leg – the one I just healed – to silently pull the box closer from the distance while we were making out. She clearly did not have time to adjust the dosage. Otherwise, I would be out instead of just largely paralyzed.

I gravely underestimated the Seeker.

She was not interested in me at all or in thanking me. She must have noticed I was attracted to her and used her host's body to distract me while taking steps to incapacitate me.

" _And I fell for it like an idiot. She has me now and there is nothing I can do..."_

I now lay helplessly on the ground while the blonde Seeker woman stood over me. Sunlight looked pleased about her victory but there was also an embarrassment on her face.

"I am so sorry…" she gave me what sounded like genuine apology. "My host… in her adolescence, she often used her _looks_ to gain what she wanted," she explained, confirming my thoughts. "When I saw you look at me like the human boys always looked at her… I had to try."

"I admit that it's not a standard Seeker protocol… for that I am very sorry. I was desperate and didn't know what else to do to stop you from leaving…" she explained to me apologetically but then she gave a triumphant smile that made me want to choke her if I could.

"But it worked! I can't believe it really worked!"

To me, it sounded like she was gloating but Sunlight was merely amazed that a desperate gambit she learned from her host's memories of all places would actually help her in her calling.

"Why?!" I rasped with my voice stiff. I tried to move but I was very nearly paralyzed.

The blonde woman knelt down over my prone form, switching our earlier positions. "I told you. It's my calling… it's who I am," Sunlight said simply and sighed. "You should have surrendered when I gave you the chance," she spoke in sad voice. "But don't worry, I will tell the others how you helped me... we will select a nice Soul for you."

Terror filled my heart at her words. I should have just left her to bleed out in the ravine. I could not believe that I was going to die for trying to help.

"I saved you!" I whispered – the biggest mistake of my life.

She shrugged. "I know you did. And I am very grateful. You are different from the other humans," Sunlight said honestly. "But don't you remember? You were also the one who caused me to be in danger in the first place, weren't you, Jacob?"

"If you only came along when I told you and did not run away, I'd never had to chase you. So…"

"Please… Sunlight… don't do this…" I pleaded. It was all I could do now and I had only myself to thank for ending up in this situation. But the woman ignored my pleas. Instead, she proceeded to check my pockets, confiscating my knife and other things.

"Where is my pistol?" Sunlight eventually asked when she was finished frisking me, making sure I had nothing I could use to attack her or escape.

At that point, my anger at what I perceived as cruelty and the injustice of this situation was boiling within me. It finally exploded and I yelled many profanities at her.

She was little taken back but then she stood up and slowly rearranged her uniform that my roaming hands disturbed. It almost looked like Sunlight was gloating again in triumph over the dirty trick she used to take me down. But I knew that was not the parasite's style.

"I know this all must seem like horrible treachery to you," she said in kind voice. "But regardless of how we got here, this is where we are…" Sunlight continued. "You are my prisoner, Jacob," she declared with finality. "The sooner you accept that, the sooner you can stop tormenting yourself about what happened. You have evaded us for long but I found you and now your fight is over... you can finally rest," she told me the condescending words in what was an honest voice. "Surely, you realize that anger and insults are not going to change anything."

She looked at me for a long time with a gaze that would make me cower if I could still move.

I knew she was right but I still boiled hot. I said no more but I stared at her angrily. The worst of it was that standing triumphant over my fallen body, she seemed even more attractive to my stupid male brain. She was so strong and beautiful... I had to shake the feeling and remember that this is how she captured me and that I hated her.

Sunlight asked me about her gun again but I refused to answer and instead tried to raise myself repeatedly from the ground, unsuccessfully. The Seeker watched me with sympathy but eventually, even she lost her patience.

She put her right foot – the one I treated for her – on my chest and firmly pushed me down on the ground, effectively ending my feeble escape attempts.

"I am not playing anymore, Jacob… tell me where it is! Since you did not have it on you, I must know where you put it. Someone could get hurt if they were to find it by accident!"

I still did not answer and Sunlight sighed.

"What I am doing is for your own good, even if you refuse to see it… but you should know that I do not tolerate any disobedience from my prisoners," she emphasized her words by pushing me down with her foot again. "I ask you again... where is my gun?"

The irony was not lost on me. A few minutes ago, she was unable to stand without my help but now she had me pinned on the ground. Paralyzed as I was, if she decided to stomp me to death, I would not be able to stop her. Perhaps it would have been better than the fate she was planning for me…

I finally shook my head at disbelieve at what was happening. "I helped you…" I eventually uttered. "I could have let you die there but I came back and I helped you!" I cried. "Does that mean nothing at all to you?!"

"Yes, you helped me! Now I must help you in return!" the Seeker Sunlight said resolutely. "Don't you see that I am rescuing you from this doomed, futile life you lead? You have such a good heart… I won't let you die like the See weeds!" the blonde woman cried out with unexpected force.

"What are you talking about?!" I asked in confusion, wondering what ' _Sea weeds_ ' had to do with her and me.

Sunlight looked sad as she spoke next. "No, I suppose you wouldn't know the story…" she said wistfully. She took her foot off my chest and then she began to talk. I listened without interruption if only to delay the inevitable.

"I am called _Takes Sunlight from the South_ …" she told me. "For most Souls, their names reflect the significant accomplishment of their life. We give them to ourselves or they are given to us by our close friends. But for me, my name is reminder of my greatest failure…"

And then she started her narration.

"Long time ago, I was tasked with colonizing a planet. It was inhabited by sentient plants… we called them Seeweeds and they had two large colonies… forests… on the planet."

"We successfully inhabited the northern one but when we wanted to move to the southern forest, we were too late…" she told me, still keeping an eye on me but otherwise lost in her memory.

"How were you late?" I ask, not understanding.

Sunlight sighs and a single tear rolls down her cheek. "They saw us coming… but they did not understand and got afraid. Before we could get to them, they just… died. They closed their leafs and deliberately starved themselves rather than join with us."

I was astonished. "I can't say I blame them…"

Sunlight smiled weakly at me. "I do not blame them as well… I blame myself. If only I… we… were quicker! If I was a better Seeker then billions of Seeweeds would still be alive… they'd had seedlings of their own."

Sunlight was weeping openly now and she quickly wiped her tears with her hand.

"Instead, the Southern forest is all gone… their memories, their culture lost forever…"

The blonde woman returned from her distant memories and she focused her attention on me again and there was fire in her eyes as she spoke with determination. "That's why I swore to be a better Seeker… to never let my quarry escape me again…"

"There is nothing I can say or do to make you let me go, is there?" I asked her directly.

She shook her head. "No," she confirmed with the final, decisive word that crushed my last hopes.

It was at that moment that I gave up. I did not have the strength of will to argue the morality of her story.

The Seeker believed she should have been quicker in implanting the southern forest and blamed herself for their deaths. I would argue that they never should have invaded the Seeweed planet in the first place. Never force the poor creatures to choose between suicide and loss of their bodies and minds to alien invaders.

But I feared that it was pointless to argue. It was the same twisted logic that Souls used to justify the genocide of humanity. The sad truth was that I was totally at her mercy. There was little point in trying to resist now.

I nod to the other side of the car. "The gun is over there... in the ditch."

Sunlight looks there and nods. "Stay here!" she orders while going to retrieve her sidearm.

I try to use that time to escape again but it is utterly futile as I am still largely paralyzed by the Sleep gas. When she comes back I barely crawled a few centimeters.

I am forced to stop as I feel her kneeling on my back and putting restraints on my hands. When she is done, she grips my shoulders and forcibly pulls me up to my wobbly feet.

Our eyes meet and she notices my empty, broken expression and she sighs. "There is something I can do for you…if you want," she says but I dare not look up in hope. She made it abundantly clear that releasing me was not an option.

"I can claim that you surrendered to me willingly," she says.

"And why would I want to do that?" I ask her in quiet voice.

"Because you'll be treated better," Sunlight explains. "You'll remain restraint but conscious until the insertion and you'll get meals and sessions with Comforter, if you want them."

I chuckle at their idea of _being treated better_ – last meal and a talk with a priest before they execute me. Still, I supposed that it beats being sprayed with gas and never waking up ever again.

The Seeker woman did not appreciate my reaction. "You _did_ save my live and for that I am willing to lie to my colleagues for you, Jacob… this is not easy for me. You should be more grateful."

I nod. Soul never lies to another Soul. I am actually surprised she offers me this even if it brings me absolutely no comfort or hope.

"Fine," I said. "You win. I surrender…"

The young blonde woman studies me carefully. "If you think you can use the time to escape, you are wrong."

"I know," I say honestly. I had a feeling she was going to keep a close eye on me until it was over. Small chance there.

The woman smiles brightly and nods. "Good. You will also have to obey all of my orders as well as the other Seekers. No more disobedience… can you do that?" Sunlight asks, unsure whether I can behave.

"Yes, Seeker… I'll do as you say," I grind the words through my teeth, reluctantly acknowledging her authority over me.

She briefly wonders whether she can trust me before she pushes me forward. "We shall see. Come on… let's get you into the car."

 _ **The End.**_


End file.
